City firefighters pension calls reform idea ‘illegal’

Last week, we reported that Mayor Annise Parker was considering placing newly hired firefighters into a separate, less generous pension plan that would be created by the city.

The plan would be independent of the Legislature, which controls the city’s fire pension today. The benefits under the idea, which has not been formally proposed, would mirror the pension police officers hired since fall 2004 receive, without automatic cost-of-living adjustments (the single most expensive pension benefit the city provides).